Living through Chemotherapy for Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer today is so much more survivable than it ever was. Perhaps one day this horrible, debilitating malady will finally be put to rest and on a list of other past diseases that are gone because of medical science. However, it the meantime, you must persevere and continue the march forward into all of the tomorrows. Understand that this is no easy feat to accomplish, but all men everywhere must stand tall together and continue to bring attention to this taker of lives.

Younger men having gone through this ordeal do understand what is at stake for them. Many of these younger men had chemotherapy and now face other more concerting difficulties. Men who already have a family will fare much better by accepting this than younger men who have remained single. Time, weekly counseling, and joining with other survivors will help to change these inadequacies you are now feeling.

Exposure to chemotherapy has caused many changes such as the loss of hair, the perception of yourself, and how you believe those around you see you now. Sure things have changed for you, but inside you are still the same person and you need to feel proud of surviving such an ordeal. Okay, yes, you lost most if not all of your hair, but it will grow back. You need to focus on the fact that you survived. You survived for yourself and for all your family and friends who surround you.

What about those loose shirts and sweatshirts you have started wearing, are you that self-conscious about your appearance. You are looking at this entire issue as if you did something wrong. The reality is the exact opposite, as you will soon come to realize. Be proud of all you have accomplished and the ordeal you have just survived. There are many other men who were not as fortunate as you have been.

Hormonal therapies are in reserve for men who are in need of additional therapy to get back on their feet. Prostate cancer chemotherapy works slightly different from other treatment plans. Chemotherapy may consist of a smaller or greater dosage depending on the severity of your prostate cancer. Even the combination of drugs will differentiate from one patient to the next sometimes depending upon age. One of the more notable aspects to chemotherapy is how differently the affects are with each man.

All of the options listed are viable for you and your wife to talk about and consider, but at a later date. Right now your focus must be on receiving whatever it takes including proper foods and necessary medication. Thinking about starting a family down the road will serve as a positive reinforcement. This is an issue you will want to keep open and discuss often.

Treatments, surgeries, and all medications through the various ordeals can leave you with a few side effects, though most men fair well. A few of the more pronounced side effects are the following.

Cancer treatment lasting pain

Bone pain because the cancer can spread

Urinary dysfunction caused by radiation therapy

Bowel dysfunction usually following external beam radiotherapy

Erectile dysfunction

Clinical, biological, and pathological features of prostate cancer in younger men like you vary from older men. If you receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer before reaching age forty this is an indication of a more serious condition that is more than likely a part of the gene pool with the male members of your family. In many cases by the time prostate cancer is even noticeable, the cancer has spread and become more advanced. However, what you do have in your favor is the fact that younger men generally respond better.

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